Communication periods for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for multi-universal subscriber identification module (USIM) and dual connectivity operation. A method that may be performed by a user equipment (UE) includes establishing a first access link, associated with a first subscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a first base station; establishing a second access link, associated with the first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station; establishing a third access link associated with a second SIM of the UE; identifying at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods during which to use the third access link; and tuning to the third access link for communicating using the second SIM during at least one time period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/951,336, filed Dec. 20, 2019, which is herebyassigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated byreference herein in its entirety as if fully set forth below and for allapplicable purposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, andmore particularly, to techniques for communication periods formulti-universal subscriber identification module (USIM) and dualconnectivity operation.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, etc. These wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple-access systems include3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE)systems, LTE Advanced (LTE-A) systems, code division multiple access(CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequencydivision multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency divisionmultiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous codedivision multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. New radio (e.g., 5G NR) is an exampleof an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is a set of enhancementsto the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to bettersupport mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectralefficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of newspectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using OFDMAwith a cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and on the uplink (UL).To these ends, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output(MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues toincrease, there exists a need for further improvements in NR and LTEtechnology. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to othermulti-access technologies and the telecommunication standards thatemploy these technologies.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices of the disclosure each have severalaspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirableattributes. Without limiting the scope of this disclosure as expressedby the claims which follow, some features will now be discussed briefly.After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading thesection entitled “Detailed Description” one will understand how thefeatures of this disclosure provide advantages that include improvedmulti-universal subscriber identification module (USIM) and dualconnectivity operation.

Certain aspects provide a method, performed by a user equipment (UE),for wireless communication. The method generally includes establishing afirst access link, associated with a first subscriber identificationmodule (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a first base station;establishing a second access link, associated with the first SIM of theUE, for communicating with a second base station; establishing a thirdaccess link associated with a second SIM of the UE; identifying at leastone time division multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of timeperiods during which to use the third access link; and tuning to thethird access link for communicating using the second SIM during at leastone time period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by auser equipment. The apparatus generally includes at least one processorconfigured to establish a first access link, associated with a firstsubscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating witha first base station; establish a second access link, associated withthe first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station;establish a third access link associated with a second SIM of the UE;identify at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) patternindicating a set of time periods during which to use the third accesslink; and tune to the third access link for communicating using thesecond SIM during at least one time period of the set of time periodsindicated in the TDM pattern. The apparatus also generally includes amemory coupled with the at least one processor.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by auser equipment in a network. The apparatus generally includes means forestablishing a first access link, associated with a first subscriberidentification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a firstbase station; means for establishing a second access link, associatedwith the first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second basestation; means for establishing a third access link associated with asecond SIM of the UE; means for identifying at least one time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods during whichto use the third access link; and means for tuning to the third accesslink for communicating using the second SIM during at least one timeperiod of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern.

Certain aspects provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium forwireless communications by a user equipment in a network. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium generally includes instructionsthat, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to establish a first access link, associated with a firstsubscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating witha first base station; establish a second access link, associated withthe first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station;establish a third access link associated with a second SIM of the UE;identify at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) patternindicating a set of time periods during which to use the third accesslink; and tune to the third access link for communicating using thesecond SIM during at least one time period of the set of time periodsindicated in the TDM pattern.

Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications by a basestation (BS). The method generally includes establishing a first accesslink for communicating with a user equipment; identifying at least onetime division multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of timeperiods for the UE to use to tune to a second access link forcommunicating with a second base station; and one of reducing orstopping transmissions to the UE on the first access link during atleast one time period of the set of time periods.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by abase station (BS). The apparatus generally includes at least oneprocessor configured to establishing a first access link forcommunicating with a user equipment; identify at least one time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods for the UEto use to tune to a second access link for communicating with a secondbase station; and one of reduce or stop transmissions to the UE on thefirst access link during at least one time period of the set of timeperiods. The apparatus also generally includes a memory coupled with theat least one processor.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by abase station (BS). The apparatus generally includes means forestablishing a first access link for communicating with a userequipment; means for identifying at least one time division multiplexing(TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods for the UE to use to tuneto a second access link for communicating with a second base station;and one of means for reducing or means for stopping transmissions to theUE on the first access link during at least one time period of the setof time periods.

Certain aspects provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium forwireless communications by a base station (BS). The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium generally includes instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor toestablishing a first access link for communicating with a userequipment; identify at least one time division multiplexing (TDM)pattern indicating a set of time periods for the UE to use to tune to asecond access link for communicating with a second base station; and oneof reduce or stop transmissions to the UE on the first access linkduring at least one time period of the set of time periods.

Certain aspects provide a method, performed by a user equipment (UE),for wireless communication. The method generally includes establishing afirst access link, associated with a first subscriber identificationmodule (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a first base station;establishing a second access link, associated with the first SIM of theUE, for communicating with a second base station; establishing a thirdaccess link associated with a second SIM of the UE; determining a needfor reduced capability on the second access link to communicate on thethird access link; transmitting an indication of the need for thereduced capability to the second base station; and communicating on thethird access link using the second SIM simultaneously with communicatingon the second access link using the first SIM, wherein communicating onthe second access link is at the reduced capability.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by auser equipment. The apparatus generally includes at least one processorconfigured to establish a first access link, associated with a firstsubscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating witha first base station; establish a second access link, associated withthe first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station;establish a third access link associated with a second SIM of the UE;determine a need for reduced capability on the second access link tocommunicate on the third access link; transmit an indication of the needfor the reduced capability to the second base station; and communicateon the third access link using the second SIM simultaneously withcommunicating on the second access link using the first SIM, whereincommunicating on the second access link is at the reduced capability.The apparatus also generally includes a memory coupled with the at leastone processor.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by auser equipment in a network. The apparatus generally includes means forestablishing a first access link, associated with a first subscriberidentification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a firstbase station; means for establishing a second access link, associatedwith the first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second basestation; means for establishing a third access link associated with asecond SIM of the UE; means for determining a need for reducedcapability on the second access link to communicate on the third accesslink; means for transmitting an indication of the need for the reducedcapability to the second base station; and means for communicating onthe third access link using the second SIM simultaneously withcommunicating on the second access link using the first SIM, whereincommunicating on the second access link is at the reduced capability.

Certain aspects provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium forwireless communications by a user equipment in a network. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium generally includes instructionsthat, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least oneprocessor to establish a first access link, associated with a firstsubscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating witha first base station; establish a second access link, associated withthe first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station;establish a third access link associated with a second SIM of the UE;determine a need for reduced capability on the second access link tocommunicate on the third access link; transmit an indication of the needfor the reduced capability to the second base station; and communicateon the third access link using the second SIM simultaneously withcommunicating on the second access link using the first SIM, whereincommunicating on the second access link is at the reduced capability.

Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communications by a basestation (BS). The method generally includes establishing a first accesslink for communicating with a user equipment; receiving, from the UE, anindication of a need for reduced capability on the first access link;and reducing a number of transmissions to the UE on the first accesslink in response to the indication of the need for the reducedcapability.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by abase station (BS). The apparatus generally includes at least oneprocessor configured to establishing a first access link forcommunicating with a user equipment; receive, from the UE, an indicationof a need for reduced capability on the first access link; and reduce anumber of transmissions to the UE on the first access link in responseto the indication of the need for the reduced capability. The apparatusalso generally includes a memory coupled with the at least oneprocessor.

Certain aspects provide an apparatus for wireless communications by abase station (BS). The apparatus generally includes means forestablishing a first access link for communicating with a userequipment; means for receiving, from the UE, an indication of a need forreduced capability on the first access link; and means for reducing anumber of transmissions to the UE on the first access link in responseto the indication of the need for the reduced capability.

Certain aspects provide a non-transitory computer-readable medium forwireless communications by a base station (BS). The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium generally includes instructions that, whenexecuted by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor toestablishing a first access link for communicating with a userequipment; receive, from the UE, an indication of a need for reducedcapability on the first access link; and reduce a number oftransmissions to the UE on the first access link in response to theindication of the need for the reduced capability.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe appended drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative featuresof the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description,briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some ofwhich are illustrated in the drawings. It is to be noted, however, thatthe appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of thisdisclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope,for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an exampletelecommunications system, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of anexample a base station (BS) and user equipment (UE), in accordance withcertain aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wirelesscommunication by a user equipment (UE), in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wirelesscommunication by a base station (BS), in accordance with certain aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example call-flow for configuring andcommunicating using a TDM patter, in accordance with certain aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wirelesscommunication by a user equipment (UE), in accordance with certainaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations for wirelesscommunication by a base station (BS), in accordance with certain aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a communications device that may include variouscomponents configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosedherein in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure

FIG. 9 illustrates a communications device that may include variouscomponents configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosedherein in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspectmay be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specificrecitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processingsystems, and computer readable mediums for multi-universal subscriberidentification module (USIM) and dual connectivity operation. Forexample, in some cases, a UE may have a first access link establishedwith a first base station, a second access link established with asecond base station, and a third access link established with a thirdbase station. Accordingly, techniques presented herein involve tuningaway from the second access link to the third access link according to aTDM pattern that indicates a set of time periods during which to use thethird access link. According to aspects, these techniques may betransparent to the first base station on the first access link.

As noted, the following description provides examples of multi-USIM anddual connectivity operation, and is not limiting of the scope,applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes may be madein the function and arrangement of elements discussed without departingfrom the scope of the disclosure. Various examples may omit, substitute,or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance,the methods described may be performed in an order different from thatdescribed, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also,features described with respect to some examples may be combined in someother examples. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a methodmay be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. Inaddition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such anapparatus or method which is practiced using other structure,functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to, or otherthan, the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It shouldbe understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may beembodied by one or more elements of a claim. The word “exemplary” isused herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.”Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a givengeographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radioaccess technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. ARAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface,etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, a subcarrier, afrequency channel, a tone, a subband, etc. Each frequency may support asingle RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interferencebetween wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, a 5G NR RATnetwork may be deployed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network 100 inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example,the wireless communication network 100 may be an NR system (e.g., a 5GNR network).

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the wireless communication network 100 mayinclude a number of base stations (BSs) 110 a-z (each also individuallyreferred to herein as BS 110 or collectively as BSs 110) and othernetwork entities. A BS 110 may provide communication coverage for aparticular geographic area, sometimes referred to as a “cell”, which maybe stationary or may move according to the location of a mobile BS 110.In some examples, the BSs 110 may be interconnected to one anotherand/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in wirelesscommunication network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces(e.g., a direct physical connection, a wireless connection, a virtualnetwork, or the like) using any suitable transport network. In theexample shown in FIG. 1 , the BSs 110 a, 110 b and 110 c may be macroBSs for the macro cells 102 a, 102 b and 102 c, respectively. The BS 110x may be a pico BS for a pico cell 102 x. The BSs 110 y and 110 z may befemto BSs for the femto cells 102 y and 102 z, respectively. A BS maysupport one or multiple cells. The BSs 110 communicate with userequipment (UEs) 120 a-y (each also individually referred to herein as UE120 or collectively as UEs 120) in the wireless communication network100. The UEs 120 (e.g., 120 x, 120 y, etc.) may be dispersed throughoutthe wireless communication network 100, and each UE 120 may bestationary or mobile.

According to certain aspects, the BSs 110 and UEs 120 may be configuredfor multi-universal subscriber identification module (USIM) and dualconnectivity operation, as described herein. As shown in FIG. 1 , the BS110 a includes a dual connectivity module 112. The dual connectivitymodule 112 may be configured to perform the operations illustrated inone or more of FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 , as well as other operations disclosedherein for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation, in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 1, the UE 120 a includes a dual connectivity module 122. The dualconnectivity module 122 may be configured to perform the operationsillustrated in one or more of FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 , as well as otheroperations disclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivityoperation, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

Wireless communication network 100 may also include relay stations(e.g., relay station 110 r), also referred to as relays or the like,that receive a transmission of data and/or other information from anupstream station (e.g., a BS 110 a or a UE 120 r) and sends atransmission of the data and/or other information to a downstreamstation (e.g., a UE 120 or a BS 110), or that relays transmissionsbetween UEs 120, to facilitate communication between devices.

A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs 110 and providecoordination and control for these BSs 110. The network controller 130may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may alsocommunicate with one another (e.g., directly or indirectly) via wirelessor wireline backhaul.

FIG. 2 illustrates example components of BS 110 a and UE 120 a (e.g., inthe wireless communication network 100 of FIG. 1 ), which may be used toimplement aspects of the present disclosure.

At the BS 110 a, a transmit processor 220 may receive data from a datasource 212 and control information from a controller/processor 240. Thecontrol information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH),physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid ARQindicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for the physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 220 may process(e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtaindata symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor220 may also generate reference symbols, such as for the primarysynchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS),and cell-specific reference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX) multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing(e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or thereference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streamsto the modulators (MODs) in transceivers 232 a-232 t. Each modulator intransceivers 232 a-232 t may process a respective output symbol stream(e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulatormay further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, andupconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal.Downlink signals from the modulators in transceivers 232 a-232 t may betransmitted via the antennas 234 a-234 t, respectively.

At the UE 120 a, the antennas 252 a-252 r may receive the downlinksignals from the BS 110 a and may provide received signals to thedemodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 254 a-254 r, respectively. Eachdemodulator in transceivers 254 a-254 r may condition (e.g., filter,amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal toobtain input samples. Each demodulator may further process the inputsamples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. A MIMOdetector 256 may obtain received symbols from all the demodulators intransceivers 254 a-254 r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbolsif applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 mayprocess (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detectedsymbols, provide decoded data for the UE 120 a to a data sink 260, andprovide decoded control information to a controller/processor 280.

On the uplink, at UE 120 a, a transmit processor 264 may receive andprocess data (e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) froma data source 262 and control information (e.g., for the physical uplinkcontrol channel (PUCCH) from the controller/processor 280. The transmitprocessor 264 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal(e.g., for the sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from thetransmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 ifapplicable, further processed by the demodulators in transceivers 254a-254 r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the BS 110 a. Atthe BS 110 a, the uplink signals from the UE 120 a may be received bythe antennas 234, processed by the modulators in transceivers 232 a-232t, detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processedby a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and controlinformation sent by the UE 120 a. The receive processor 238 may providethe decoded data to a data sink 239 and the decoded control informationto the controller/processor 240.

The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for BS 110 aand UE 120 a, respectively. A scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for datatransmission on the downlink and/or uplink.

The controller/processor 280 and/or other processors and modules at theBS 110 and/or UE 120 a may perform or direct the execution of processesfor the techniques described herein. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 ,the controller/processor 240 of the BS 110 a includes a dualconnectivity module 241 that may be configured to perform the operationsillustrated in one or more of FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 , as well as otheroperations disclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivityoperation, according to aspects described herein. As shown in FIG. 2 ,the controller/processor 280 of the UE 120 a includes dual connectivitymodule 281 that may be configured to perform the operations illustratedin one or more of FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 , as well as other operationsdisclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation,according to aspects described herein. Although shown at theController/Processor, other components of the UE 120 a and BS 110 a maybe used performing the operations described herein.

Example Communication Periods for Multi-USIM and Dual ConnectivityOperation

In certain cases, two different subscriptions may be supported on a samedevice, such as a user equipment (UE), and may be based on two separatesubscriber identification module (SIMs), known as multi-SIM (MSIM).These subscriptions may be on the same radio network or different radionetworks and could have different subscription profiles and quality ofservice (QOS) requirements. Further, different subscriptions may provideservices on the same or different radio access technologies (RATs).Generally, MSIM solutions use less resources, while performingoperations on two different RATs, than that needed by two independentsolutions with the goal of optimizing resource (RF, MIPs, etc.) usage aswell as providing an enhanced user experience.

In some cases, different classes of radio frequency (RF) solutions existfor MSIM devices. For example, in some cases, the MSIM device mayinclude a dual transceiver that may provide dual receive and dual access(DSDA). For example, in this case, each subscription of the MSIM devicemay correspond to its own transceiver. In other cases, the MSIM devicemay include a single transceiver where two subscriptions share the sameradio resources/receive chain. Due to RF complexity, cost, and powerconsumption considerations, the majority of legacy dual subscriptiondevices and solutions share a single transceiver and the same receivechain.

With 5G New Radio (NR) deployments aggressively moving ahead globally,MSIM solutions now comprise of a combination of 5G+4G/3G/2G RATs. Thereare two 5G solutions defined by Rel15 3GPP standards: non-standalone(NSA) and standalone 5G (SA). In the standalone 5G NR architecture, bothsignaling network and radio may be handled by a 5G core network. Incontrast, in 5G NSA networks, a long term evolution (LTE) core networkand LTE radio access may be used as an anchor for all signaling andmobility management while adding a new 5G carrier. The NSA architectureis attractive for early deployments of 5G NR access systems as networksmay reuse the legacy operational LTE eNodeB (eNB) and evolved packetcore (EPC). Non-standalone solutions are also attractive as theyfacilitate a seamless migration from 4G to 5G for networks leveragingexisting LTE core network.

Dual Connectivity (DC) has been introduced to allow a UE tosimultaneously connect to two different network points for achievinghigher throughput, reliability and mobility robustness. EvolvedUniversal Mobile Telecommunications Service Terrestrial Radio AccessNetwork (EUTRAN)-NR Dual Connectivity (ENDC) is one form of dualconnectivity using LTE and NR. In ENDC mode and for a non-standaloneimplementation, the UE may be connected to an LTE eNB on a first accesslink and to an NR gNB on a second access link. In certain cases, the LTEeNB may act as a master node (MeNB) while the gNB may act as a secondarynode (SgNB). Both nodes may interface with the Evolved packet core (EPC)in the user plane but the master node may have direct connection to EPC.

As noted, in some cases, the UE may communicate on a plurality of accesslinks. For example, in some cases, the UE may communicate on a firstaccess link with a first base station (e.g., an LTE base station) andmay communicate on a second access link with a second base station(e.g., a 5G base station). In some cases, the first access link and thesecond access link may be associated with a first SIM. Additionally, insome cases, the UE may communicate on a third access link associatedwith a second SIM.

However, in some cases, the UE may not be capable of receiving dataand/or signaling simultaneously on the plurality of access links usingboth SIMs. For example, in dual connectivity (e.g., EN-DC), a processingcapability of the UE (e.g., due to the single receive chain) may preventthe UE from receiving using a first SIM on a first access link whileconcurrently receiving using the first SIM on the second access link orthe second SIM on the third access link. Similarly, receive and/ortransmitting, concurrently, on a plurality of access links and using aplurality of SIMs may result in interference.

Accordingly, to address these issues, aspects of the present disclosureprovide techniques for enabling configuration of one or more timedivision multiplexing (TDM) patterns indicating a set of time periodsduring which to use one or more of a plurality of access links. Forexample, the UE may identify a TDM pattern for tuning from a secondaccess link associated with a first SIM and to a third access linkassociated with a second SIM, and may tune to the third access link to,for example, receive signaling and/or data on the third access link. Insome cases, the techniques presented herein may be transparent to thefirst base station associated with the first access link (e.g., LTE) soas not to disrupt its operation. Further, by introducing a TDM patternfor communicating on the third access link, the UE may reduce alikelihood of dropped communications resulting from attempting toconcurrently transmit and/or receive a plurality of data transmissionsor control signals on a plurality of access links using a plurality ofSIMs.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 300 forwireless communication, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure. The operations 300 may be performed, for example, byUE (e.g., such as a UE 120 a in the wireless communication network 100)for multi-universal subscriber identification module (USIM) and dualconnectivity operation, as described herein. More specifically,operations 300 may be performed by the UE for communicating with a BSaccording to a TDM pattern, as described herein.

Operations 300 may be implemented as software components that areexecuted and run on one or more processors (e.g., controller/processor280 of FIG. 2 ). Further, the transmission and reception of signals bythe UE in operations 300 may be enabled, for example, by one or moreantennas (e.g., antennas 252 of FIG. 2 ). In certain aspects, thetransmission and/or reception of signals by the UE may be implementedvia a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g.,controller/processor 280) obtaining and/or outputting signals.

The operations 300 begin, at 305, by establishing a first access link,associated with a first subscriber identification module (SIM) of theUE, for communicating with a first base station.

At 310, the UE establishes a second access link, associated with thefirst SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station.

At 315, the UE establishes a third access link associated with a secondSIM of the UE.

At 320, the UE identifies at least one time division multiplexing (TDM)pattern indicating a set of time periods during which to use the thirdaccess link.

At 325, the UE tunes to the third access link for communicating usingthe second SIM during at least one time period of the set of timeperiods indicated in the TDM pattern.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 400 forwireless communication, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure. The operations 400 may be performed, for example, bybase station (e.g., such as a BS 110 in the wireless communicationnetwork 100) for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation, asdescribed herein. More specifically, operations 400 may be performed bythe BS for communicating with a UE according to a TDM pattern, asdescribed herein.

In some cases, the base station may comprise the second base station ofoperations 300. Operations 400 may be implemented as software componentsthat are executed and run on one or more processors (e.g.,controller/processor 240 of FIG. 2 ). Further, the transmission andreception of signals by the BS in operations 400 may be enabled, forexample, by one or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234 of FIG. 2 ). Incertain aspects, the transmission and/or reception of signals by the BSmay be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g.,controller/processor 240) obtaining and/or outputting signals.

The operations 400 begin, at 405, by establishing a first access linkfor communicating with a user equipment. In some cases, the first accesslink may correspond to the second access link established between the UEand second base station in operations 300.

At 410, the BS identifies at least one time division multiplexing (TDM)pattern indicating a set of time periods for the UE to use to tune to asecond access link for communicating with a second base station. In somecases, the second access link may correspond to the third access linkestablished by the UE in operations 300.

At 415, the BS one of reduces or stops transmissions to the UE on thefirst access link during at least one time period of the set of timeperiods.

As noted above, aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques forenabling configuration of one or more time division multiplexing (TDM)patterns indicating a set of time periods during which a UE may use oneor more of a plurality of access links. For example, in some cases, a UEmay establish a first access link with a first base station and a secondaccess link with a second base station. In some cases, the UE may use afirst SIM for communicating on the first access link and the secondaccess link. In some cases, however, the UE may also establish a thirdaccess link, associated with a second SIM of the UE, for communicatingwith a third base station. In some cases the third base station maycomprise one of the first base station, the second base station, or acompletely different base station. Additionally, in some cases, thefirst base station may comprise a master node (e.g., LTE) and the secondbase station may comprise a secondary node (e.g., 5G).

Accordingly, when operating in dual connectivity mode, the UE maycommunicate with the first base station on the first access link and thesecond base station on the second access link. Additionally, in certaincases, the UE may also desire to communicate with the third base stationon the third access link. However, when the UE is not capable of usingboth the second access link and the third access link simultaneously(e.g., due to only one transceiver and one Rx chain), a “gap” may becreated on at least one of the links (e.g., the second access link)during which the UE can access the other link (e.g., the third accesslink). Accordingly, a TDM pattern may be identified and used by the UEfor communicating on the third access link using a second SIM. Forexample, the TDM pattern may indicate a set of time periods during whichto communicate on the third access link using the second SIM. The set oftime periods indicated in the TDM pattern may correspond to periods oftime when the second base station reduces or stops transmission on thesecond access link, allowing the UE to tune to the third access link toreceive signaling and/or data.

In some cases, when the UE is capable of using both the second accesslink and the third access link simultaneously (e.g., the UE has at leasttwo Rx chains) but with reduced capability, the UE may inform at leastone of the second base station or third base station for such reduction(e.g., to transmit less on a respective access link). According toaspects, the reduced UE capability may also be applicable to the TDMpattern if the UE cannot fully use its capability due to frequentswitching.

According to aspects, in either case, the TDM pattern may be negotiatedbetween the UE and the second base station and may be transparent to thefirst base station, for example, so as to not disrupt operation of thefirst base station.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example call-flow for configuring andcommunicating using a TDM pattern, according to certain aspectspresented herein. It should be understood that the order of steps shownin FIG. 5 is merely exemplary and that the steps may not necessarilyoccur in the exact order as shown. For example, in some cases, steps1-3, described below, may occur in an order different from that shown inFIG. 5 .

As illustrated in FIG. 5 , at step 1, the UE 120 establishes a firstaccess link, associated with a first SIM of the UE 120, forcommunicating with a first base station 502. In some cases, the firstbase station 502 may comprise a master node (MN) and may be associatedwith a first radio access technology (RAT), such as an LTE. At step 2,the UE 120 establishes a second access link, associated with the firstSIM of the UE 120, for communicating with a second base station 504. Insome cases, the second base station 504 may comprise a secondary node(SN) and may be associated with a second RAT, such as a 5G.

In some cases, the UE 120 may be capable of communicating on both thefirst access link and the second access link, known as dualconnectivity. Additionally, in some cases, the UE 120 may include asecond SIM and may establish a third access link associated with thesecond SIM of the UE 120, as shown at step 3 in FIG. 5 . In some cases,the UE 120 may use the third access link for communicating with a thirdbase station 506 (or wireless node (WN)), which may be associated with athird RAT. In some cases, the UE 120 may establish the third access linkwith a same base station as the first access link or the second accesslink but using a second SIM.

At step 4 in FIG. 5 , the UE 120 determines a need for gaps on the firstSIM (e.g., USIM A) to communicate on the third access link using thesecond SIM (e.g., USIM B). Accordingly, in response to the determinationof the need for the gaps on the first SIM to communicate on the thirdaccess link using the second SIM, the UE 120 may identify at least onetime division multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of timeperiods during which to communicate on the third access link using thesecond SIM. In some cases, the at least one TDM pattern may apply todownlink transmissions only, uplink transmissions only, or both uplinkand downlink transmissions.

In some cases, identifying the at least one TDM pattern may includerequesting a TDM pattern from the second base station 504. For example,as shown at step 5A in FIG. 5 , the UE 120 may transmit signaling to thesecond base station 504 requesting a TDM pattern. In some cases,requesting the TDM pattern may comprise transmitting an indication tothe second base station 504 indicating a need for reduced capability onthe second access link. For example, in some cases, the indication ofthe need for the reduced capability on the second access link mayrequest the second base station 504 to reduce transmission on the secondaccess link during transmissions on the third access link. In suchcases, the second access link may operate according to the reducedcapability during at least one time period of the set of time periodsindicated in the TDM pattern. That is, the second base station 504 mayreduce transmissions on the second access link during the at least onetime period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM patter tofacilitate communication by the UE 120 on the third access link.

Additionally, in some cases, as illustrated at step 5A in FIG. 5 ,transmitting the signaling to the second base station 504 requesting aTDM pattern may include transmitting the signaling to the first basestation 502 in a transparent container that may be forwarded by thefirst base station 502 to the second base station 504. In other cases,for example, transmitting the signaling requesting the TDM pattern tothe second base station 504 may comprise transmitting the signalingrequesting the TDM pattern directly to the second base station 504 usinga radio bearer established directly between the UE 120 and the secondbase station 504 (e.g., SRB3), as illustrated at step 5B in FIG. 5 . Insome cases, as shown in steps 5A and 5B, the signaling requesting a TDMpattern may comprise radio resource control (RRC) signaling. That is,the UE 120 may transmit the signaling requesting a TDM pattern in an RRCmessage.

In either case, as shown at step 6 FIG. 5 , the UE 120 may receive anindication of the at least one TDM pattern from the second base station504 configuring the UE 120 to use the TDM pattern. Accordingly, in somecases, identifying the at least one TDM pattern may include identifyingthe at least one TDM pattern based on the indication of the at least oneTDM pattern from the second base station 504. According to aspects, theindication of the at least one TDM pattern from the second base station504 may be transmitted in RRC signaling directly to the UE 120 (e.g.,using the SRB3 bearer) or indirectly to the UE 120 (e.g., via the firstbase station 502 in a transparent container).

In some cases, the indication of the at least one TDM pattern from thesecond base station 504 may comprise an index value associated with theat least one TDM pattern and identifying the at least one TDM pattern bythe UE 120 is based on the index value. For example, in some cases, theUE 120 may be configured with a plurality of TDM patterns, eachassociated with a different index value. The UE 120 may use the indexvalue received from the second base station 504 to determine the TDMpattern corresponding to the received index value.

In some cases, identifying the at least one TDM pattern may includedetermining the TDM pattern at the UE 120 and transmitting an indicationof the at least one TDM pattern to the second base station 504. That is,the signaling requesting the TDM pattern transmitted at step 5A and/or5B of FIG. 5 may include the indication of the at least one TDM patterndetermined by the UE 120. In some cases, the indication of the at leastone TDM pattern determined by the UE 120 may include an index valueassociated with the at least one TDM pattern. The index value may beused by the second base station 504 to determine the at least one TDMpattern. For example, as noted above, in some cases, a plurality of TDMpatterns may be configured, each associated with a different indexvalue. The second base station 504 may use the index value received fromthe second base station 504 to determine the TDM pattern correspondingto the received index value. In some cases, the UE 120 may transmit theindication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second base station504 in RRC signaling directly to the UE 120 (e.g., using the SRB3bearer) or indirectly to the UE 120 (e.g., via the first base station502 in a transparent container).

According to aspects, in the case that the UE 120 determines andtransmits the indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the secondbase station 504 at step 5A and/or step 5B in FIG. 5 , the UE 120 mayreceive a confirmation from the second base station 504 confirming theat least one TDM pattern. That is, as shown at step 6 in FIG. 5 uponreceiving the indication of the at least one TDM pattern from the UE120, the second base station 504 may transmit a confirmation message tothe UE 120, confirming and configuring the UE 120 with the at least oneTDM pattern. At noted above, the confirmation message may be received bythe UE 120 directly from the second base station 504 (e.g., using theSRB3 bearer) or indirectly from the first base station 502 (e.g., in atransparent container). In some cases, the confirmation message mayindicate an index value associated with the at least one TDM pattern.

According to aspects, at step 7 of FIG. 5 , the UE 120 may receivesignaling from the second base station 504 activating the at least oneTDM pattern. According to aspects, in some cases, the signaling from thesecond base station 504 activating the at least one TDM pattern mayindicate to the UE 120 to start using the at least one TDM pattern whencommunicating on the second access link and third access link. In somecases, the signaling activating the at least one TDM pattern (e.g.,indicating to the UE 120 to start using the at least one TDM pattern)may be received in at least one of media access control (MAC) layersignaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling. In some cases, the MACsignaling comprises a MAC control element (MAC-CE) and the PHY layersignaling comprises downlink control information (DCI). In some cases,the MAC layer signaling or the PHY layer signaling may include an indexvalue associated with the at least one TDM pattern. Additionally, insome cases, the UE 120 may start using the at least one TDM patternimmediately after receiving the signaling indicating to start/activatethe at least one TDM pattern. In other cases, the UE 120 may start usingthe at least one TDM pattern immediately after the UE 120 processes theRRC signaling at step 6 in FIG. 5 configuring/confirming the UE 120 withthe at least one TDM pattern.

According to aspects, in some cases, the signaling from the second basestation 504 received at step 7 in FIG. 5 may include an indication tochange the at least one TDM pattern (e.g., already configured in theUE). For example, in this case, the indication to change the at leastone TDM pattern may include an indication of a new TDM pattern to use.

According to aspects, at step 8 of FIG. 5 , the UE 120 may tune to thethird access link and communicate on the third access link with thethird base station 506 using the second SIM (e.g., USIM B), for example,during at least one time period of the set of time periods indicated inthe TDM pattern. For example, in some cases, during at least one timeperiod of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern the UE120 may transmit or receive signaling and/or data on the third accesslink. According to aspects, while the UE 120 is communicating on thethird access link during at least one time period of the set of timeperiods indicated in the TDM pattern, the second base station 504 mayreduce or stop transmissions to the UE 120 on the second access link. Insome cases, during the set of time periods indicated in the TDM patternthe UE 120 may use the first access link for uplink transmissions to thefirst base station 502. Thereafter, outside of the set of time periodsindicated in the TDM pattern, the UE 120 may autonomously switch tonormal operation, such as receiving downlink transmission ortransmitting uplink transmissions to the first base station on the firstaccess link.

In some cases, the UE 120 may transmit uplink signaling and data on onlythe first access link during the at least one time period of the set oftime periods indicated in the TDM pattern. According to aspects, thismay be the case when for when the UE 120 is not able to use both linksfor an uplink split bearer during the at least one time period of theset of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern. In some cases, thismay require a specification change to allow this “autonomous” UE 120behavior as the first base station may not be aware of the at least oneTDM pattern.

According to aspects, as noted above, the third base station 506 maycomprise the first base station 502, the second base station 504, or aWN/base station different from the first base station 502 and the secondbase station 504. Accordingly, in some cases, tuning to the third accesslink for communicating using the second SIM during the at least one timeperiod of the set of time periods indicated in the at least one TDMpattern may comprise one of: communicating with the first base station502 on the third access link using the second SIM, communicating withthe second base station 504 on the third access link using the secondSIM, or communicating with a third base station 506 on the third accesslink using the second SIM that is different from the first base station502 and the second base station 504.

At step 9 of FIG. 5 , the UE 120 may transmit a request to the secondbase station 504 to stop using the at least one TDM pattern based on oneor more criteria. For example, in some cases, in some cases, the one ormore criteria may comprise the commencement of a voice call at the UE120. In some cases, the request to stop the at least one TDM pattern maybe transmitted directly to the second bases station (e.g., using theSRB3 bearer) or indirectly to the second base station 504 (e.g., via thefirst base station 502 in a transparent container). In some cases, theUE 120 may transmit the request to stop the at least one TDM pattern ina MAC-CE.

In some cases, the request transmitted at step 9 of FIG. 5 may comprisea request to change the at least one TDM pattern. In this case,transmitting the request to change the at least one TDM pattern by theUE 120 may comprise transmitting an explicit indication to request thechange in the at least one TDM pattern in radio resource control (RRC)signaling. Additionally, in other cases, transmitting the request tochange the at least one TDM pattern by the UE 120 comprises transmittingan implicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in media access control (MAC) signaling. In some cases, theimplicit indication may include an index value associated with the atleast one TDM pattern.

At step 10 of FIG. 5 , the UE 120 may receive an indication from thesecond base station 504 to stop using the at least one TDM pattern. Insome cases, the indication from the second base station 504 may comprisea confirmation in response to the request to stop using the at least oneTDM pattern transmitted by the UE 120 in step 9 of FIG. 5 . In othercases, the indication from the second base station 504 to stop using theat least one TDM pattern may be transmitted by the second base station504 autonomously, for example, without a request from the UE 120. Insome cases, indication from the second base station 504 to stop usingthe at least one TDM pattern may be based on the one or more criteria,such as the second base station 504 detecting a commencement of a voicecall at the UE 120. According to aspects, in some cases, the indicationto stop using the at least one TDM pattern may be received from thesecond base station 504 in at least one of in media access control (MAC)layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling and may comprises anindex value associated with the at least one TDM pattern. In some cases,the indication from the second base station 504 to stop using the atleast one TDM pattern may be received from the first base station 502 ina transparent container (e.g., forwarded from the second base station504) or may be received directly from the second base station 504 (e.g.,via SRB3).

At step 11 of FIG. 5 , after receiving the indication to stop using theat least one TDM pattern, the UE 120 may return to communicating onlyusing the first SIM and may cease communicating on the third access linkwith the third base station 506 (e.g., using the second SIM).

In some cases, the at least one TDM pattern may be periodic, aperiodic,or semi-persistent. For example, when the at least one TDM pattern isperiodic, the UE 120 may receiving paging or system information on thethird access link periodically during the set of time periods indicatedin the at least one TDM pattern. In other words, the set of time periodsindicated in the at least one TDM pattern may occur periodically.Additionally, in some cases, when the at least one TDM pattern isperiodic, the UE 120 may transmit a tracking area update (TAU) or aradio access network notification area update (RNAU) periodically duringthe set of time periods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern.

According to certain aspects, when the at least one TDM pattern isaperiodic, the UE 120 may only be configured to communicate during theset of time periods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern once andmay not repeat the at least one TDM pattern after the at least one TDMpattern is complete. According to aspects, when the at least one TDMpattern is aperiodic, the UE 120 may transmit at least one of a trackingarea update (TAU) or a radio access network notification area update(RNAU) during the set of time periods indicated in the at least one TDMpattern due to a mobility decision at the UE 120 (e.g., handover and thelike).

According to certain aspects, when the at least one TDM pattern issemi-persistently configured, the UE 120 may be configured with anindication of when and for how long to use the at least one TDM patternfor communicating on the third access link with the third base station506 using the second SIM.

In some cases, a change in the second base station 504 may occur inwhich the UE 120 may be handed over (or may autonomously select) adifferent second base station 504 for communication on the second linkusing the first SIM. In such a case, if a TDM pattern is configured atthe second base station 504 and UE 120, the TDM pattern may be releasedor maintained during the change of second base stations 504. Forexample, when the UE 120 changes second base stations 504, in somecases, the old second base station may inform the new second basestation of the TDM pattern configured at the UE 120. In some cases, theold second base station may transmit an indication of the TDM pattern tothe new second base station via the first base station 502 in atransparent container of an RRC message (e.g., the first base station502 forwards the indication of the TDM pattern to the new second basestation). According to aspects, upon receiving the indication of the TDMpattern, the new second base station may decide to release, change, ormaintain the TDM pattern with the UE 120.

As noted above, in some cases, when the UE 120 is capable ofcommunicating simultaneously on the second access link using the firstSIM and the third access link using the second SIM, the UE 120 maydetermine a need for a reduced capability on the second access link. Insome cases, the determination may be based on a capability of the UE 120to support communication on the second access link and the third accesslink simultaneously. Thereafter, the UE 120 may transmit an indicationof the need for the reduced capability on the second access link to thesecond base station 504. For example, the indication of the need for thereduced capability on the second access link may indicate to the secondbase station 504 to reduce an amount of transmissions by the second basestation 504 to the UE 120 on the second access link. By reducing theamount of transmission by the second base station 504 to the UE 120 onthe second access link, the UE 120 may have enough resources tosimultaneously receive transmissions on the third access link (e.g.,using the second SIM). Accordingly, after transmitting the indication ofthe need for the reduced capability on the second access link, the UE120 may communicate on the third access link using the second SIMsimultaneously with communicating on the second access link using thefirst SIM. As noted, communicating on the second access link may beperformed according to, or at, the reduced capability.

In some cases, transmitting the indication of the need for the reducedcapability to the second base station 504 may include transmitting theindication directly to the second base station 504. For example, in somecases, the UE 120 may transmit the indication using a signaling radiobearer established directly between the UE 120 and the second basestation 504. In some cases, the signaling bearer may comprise a SRB3bearer.

In other cases, transmitting the indication of the need for the reducedcapability to the second base station 504 may comprise transmitting theindication indirectly to the second base station 504 via the first basestation 502. For example, in this case, the UE 120 may transmit theindication to the first base station 502 in a transparent container tobe forwarded to the second base station 504.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 600 forwireless communication, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure. The operations 600 may be performed, for example, byUE (e.g., such as a UE 120 a in the wireless communication network 100)for multi-universal subscriber identification module (USIM) and dualconnectivity operation, as described herein. More specifically,operations 600 may be performed by the UE for communicating with a BS ata reduced capability, as described herein.

Operations 600 may be implemented as software components that areexecuted and run on one or more processors (e.g., controller/processor280 of FIG. 2 ). Further, the transmission and reception of signals bythe UE in operations 300 may be enabled, for example, by one or moreantennas (e.g., antennas 252 of FIG. 2 ). In certain aspects, thetransmission and/or reception of signals by the UE may be implementedvia a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g.,controller/processor 280) obtaining and/or outputting signals.

The operations 600 begin, at 605, by establishing a first access link,associated with a first subscriber identification module (SIM) of theUE, for communicating with a first base station.

At 610, the UE establishes a second access link, associated with thefirst SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station.

At 615, the UE establishes a third access link associated with a secondSIM of the UE.

At 620, the UE determines a need for reduced capability on the secondaccess link to communicate on the third access link.

At 625, the UE transmits an indication of the need for the reducedcapability to the second base station.

At 630, the UE communicates on the third access link using the secondSIM simultaneously with communicating on the second access link usingthe first SIM, wherein communicating on the second access link is at thereduced capability.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating example operations 700 forwireless communication, in accordance with certain aspects of thepresent disclosure. The operations 700 may be performed, for example, bybase station (e.g., such as a BS 110 in the wireless communicationnetwork 100) for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation, asdescribed herein. More specifically, operations 700 may be performed bythe BS for communicating with a UE at a reduced capability, as describedherein.

In some cases, the base station may comprise the second base station ofoperations 700. Operations 700 may be implemented as software componentsthat are executed and run on one or more processors (e.g.,controller/processor 240 of FIG. 2 ). Further, the transmission andreception of signals by the BS in operations 400 may be enabled, forexample, by one or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234 of FIG. 2 ). Incertain aspects, the transmission and/or reception of signals by the BSmay be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g.,controller/processor 240) obtaining and/or outputting signals.

The operations 700 begin, at 705, by establishing a first access linkfor communicating with a user equipment. In some cases, the first accesslink may correspond to the second access link established between the UEand second base station in operations 300.

At 710, the BS receives, from the UE, an indication of a need forreduced capability on the first access link.

At 715, the BS reduces a number of transmissions to the UE on the firstaccess link in response to the indication of the need for the reducedcapability.

FIG. 8 illustrates a communications device 800 that may include variouscomponents (e.g., corresponding to means-plus-function components)configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein,such as the operations illustrated in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 as well as otheroperations disclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivityoperation. The communications device 800 includes a processing system802 coupled to a transceiver 808. The transceiver 808 is configured totransmit and receive signals for the communications device 800 via anantenna 810, such as the various signals as described herein. Theprocessing system 802 may be configured to perform processing functionsfor the communications device 800, including processing signals receivedand/or to be transmitted by the communications device 800.

The processing system 802 includes a processor 804 coupled to acomputer-readable medium/memory 812 via a bus 806. In certain aspects,the computer-readable medium/memory 812 is configured to storeinstructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by theprocessor 804, cause the processor 804 to perform the operationsillustrated in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 , or other operations for performingthe various techniques discussed herein for multi-USIM and dualconnectivity operation. In certain aspects, computer-readablemedium/memory 612 stores code for performing the operations illustratedin one or more of FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 as well as other operationsdisclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation. Forexample, computer-readable medium/memory 812 stores code forestablishing 814, code for identifying 816, code for tuning 818, codefor transmitting 820, code for determining 822, code for communicating824, and code for receiving 826.

In some cases, the code for establishing 814 may include code forestablishing a first access link, associated with a first subscriberidentification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a firstbase station.

Additionally, in some cases, the code for establishing 814 may includecode for establishing a second access link, associated with the firstSIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station.

Additionally, in some cases, the code for establishing 814 may includecode for establishing a third access link associated with a second SIMof the UE.

In some cases, the code for identifying 816 may include code foridentifying at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) patternindicating a set of time periods during which to use the third accesslink.

In some cases, the code for tuning 818 may include code for tuning tothe third access link for communicating using the second SIM during atleast one time period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the secondbase station. In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may includecode for transmitting the indication of the at least one TDM patterndirectly to the second base station. In some cases, the code fortransmitting 820 may include code for transmitting the indication of theat least one TDM pattern to the second base station via the first basestation. In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include codefor transmitting the indication of the at least one TDM pattern to thefirst base station using a transparent container.

In some cases, the code for receiving 826 may include code for receivinga confirmation from the second base station confirming the at least oneTDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an index value associated with the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for receiving 826 may include code for receivingan indication of the at least one TDM pattern from the second basestation.

In some cases, the code for identifying 816 may include code foridentifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on the index value.

In some cases, the code for receiving 826 may include code for receivingsignaling indicating to start the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting, based on one or more criteria, a request to the secondbase station to stop the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for receiving 826 may include code for receivingan indication from the second base station to stop the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting, to the second base station, a request to change the atleast one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an explicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an implicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in media access control (MAC) signaling.

In some cases, the code for receiving 826 may include code for receivingpaging or system information on the third access link periodicallyduring the set of time periods indicated in the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting a tracking area update (TAU) or a radio access networknotification area update (RNAU) periodically during the set of timeperiods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting at least one of a tracking area update (TAU) or a radioaccess network notification area update (RNAU) during the set of timeperiods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern due to a mobilitydecision.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an uplink transmission using the first access link duringat least one time period of the set of time periods indicated in the atleast one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for communicating 824 may include code forcommunicating with the first base station on the third access link usingthe second SIM.

In some cases, the code for communicating 824 may include code forcommunicating with the second base station on the third access linkusing the second SIM.

In some cases, the code for communicating 824 may include code forcommunicating with a third base station on the third access link usingthe second SIM.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an indication to the second base station indicating areduced capability for the second access link.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting uplink signaling and data on only the first access linkduring the at least one time period of the set of time periods indicatedin the TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for determining 822 may include code fordetermining a need for reduced capability on the second access link tocommunicate on the third access link.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting an indication of the need for the reduced capability to thesecond base station.

In some cases, the code for communicating 824 may include code forcommunicating on the third access link using the second SIMsimultaneously with communicating on the second access link using thefirst SIM.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capabilitydirectly to the second base station.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capability usinga signaling radio bearer established directly between the UE and thesecond base station.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capabilityindirectly to the second base station via the first base station.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 820 may include code fortransmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capability tothe first base station in a transparent container to be forwarded to thesecond base station.

In certain aspects, the processor 804 may include circuitry configuredto implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium/memory 812,such as for performing the operations illustrated in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6as well as other operations disclosed herein for multi-USIM and dualconnectivity operation. For example, the processor 804 includescircuitry for establishing 834, circuitry for identifying 836, circuitryfor tuning 838, circuitry for transmitting 840, circuitry fordetermining 842, circuitry for communicating 844, and circuitry forreceiving 846.

In some cases, the circuitry for establishing 834 may include circuitryfor establishing a first access link, associated with a first subscriberidentification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a firstbase station.

Additionally, in some cases, the circuitry for establishing 834 mayinclude circuitry for establishing a second access link, associated withthe first SIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station.

Additionally, in some cases, the circuitry for establishing 834 mayinclude circuitry for establishing a third access link associated with asecond SIM of the UE.

In some cases, the circuitry for identifying 836 may include circuitryfor identifying at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) patternindicating a set of time periods during which to use the third accesslink.

In some cases, the circuitry for tuning 838 may include circuitry fortuning to the third access link for communicating using the second SIMduring at least one time period of the set of time periods indicated inthe TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to thesecond base station. In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840may include circuitry for transmitting the indication of the at leastone TDM pattern directly to the second base station. In some cases, thecircuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitry for transmittingthe indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second basestation via the first base station. In some cases, the circuitry fortransmitting 840 may include circuitry for transmitting the indicationof the at least one TDM pattern to the first base station using atransparent container.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 846 may include circuitry forreceiving a confirmation from the second base station confirming the atleast one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an index value associated with the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 846 may include circuitry forreceiving an indication of the at least one TDM pattern from the secondbase station.

In some cases, the circuitry for identifying 836 may include circuitryfor identifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on the indexvalue.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 846 may include circuitry forreceiving signaling indicating to start the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting, based on one or more criteria, a request to the secondbase station to stop the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 846 may include circuitry forreceiving an indication from the second base station to stop the atleast one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting, to the second base station, a request to change the atleast one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an explicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an implicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in media access control (MAC) signaling.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 846 may include circuitry forreceiving paging or system information on the third access linkperiodically during the set of time periods indicated in the at leastone TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting a tracking area update (TAU) or a radio access networknotification area update (RNAU) periodically during the set of timeperiods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting at least one of a tracking area update (TAU) or a radioaccess network notification area update (RNAU) during the set of timeperiods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern due to a mobilitydecision.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an uplink transmission using the first access linkduring at least one time period of the set of time periods indicated inthe at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for communicating 844 may include circuitryfor communicating with the first base station on the third access linkusing the second SIM.

In some cases, the circuitry for communicating 844 may include circuitryfor communicating with the second base station on the third access linkusing the second SIM.

In some cases, the circuitry for communicating 844 may include circuitryfor communicating with a third base station on the third access linkusing the second SIM.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an indication to the second base station indicating areduced capability for the second access link.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting uplink signaling and data on only the first access linkduring the at least one time period of the set of time periods indicatedin the TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for determining 842 may include circuitryfor determining a need for reduced capability on the second access linkto communicate on the third access link.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting an indication of the need for the reduced capability tothe second base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for communicating 844 may include circuitryfor communicating on the third access link using the second SIMsimultaneously with communicating on the second access link using thefirst SIM.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capabilitydirectly to the second base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capabilityusing a signaling radio bearer established directly between the UE andthe second base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capabilityindirectly to the second base station via the first base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 840 may include circuitryfor transmitting the indication of the need for the reduced capabilityto the first base station in a transparent container to be forwarded tothe second base station.

FIG. 9 illustrates a communications device 900 that may include variouscomponents (e.g., corresponding to means-plus-function components)configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein,such as the operations illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 as well as otheroperations disclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivityoperation. The communications device 900 includes a processing system902 coupled to a transceiver 908. The transceiver 908 is configured totransmit and receive signals for the communications device 900 via anantenna 910, such as the various signals as described herein. Theprocessing system 902 may be configured to perform processing functionsfor the communications device 900, including processing signals receivedand/or to be transmitted by the communications device 900.

The processing system 902 includes a processor 904 coupled to acomputer-readable medium/memory 912 via a bus 906. In certain aspects,the computer-readable medium/memory 912 is configured to storeinstructions (e.g., computer-executable code) that when executed by theprocessor 904, cause the processor 904 to perform the operationsillustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 , or other operations for performingthe various techniques discussed herein for multi-USIM and dualconnectivity operation. In certain aspects, computer-readablemedium/memory 912 stores code for performing the operations illustratedin one or more of FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 as well as other operationsdisclosed herein for multi-USIM and dual connectivity operation. Forexample, computer-readable medium/memory 912 stores code forestablishing 914, code for identifying 916, code for reducing orstopping 918, code for receiving 920, and code for transmitting 922.

In some cases, the code for establishing 914 may include code forestablishing a first access link for communicating with a userequipment.

In some cases, the code for identifying 916 may include code foridentifying at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) patternindicating a set of time periods for the UE to use to tune to a secondaccess link for communicating with a second base station.

In some cases, the code for reducing or stopping 918 may include codefor reducing or stopping transmissions to the UE on the first accesslink during at least one time period of the set of time periods.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingan indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second basestation, wherein identifying the at least one TDM pattern is based onthe received indication of the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingthe indication of the at least one TDM pattern indirectly from the UEvia a third base station.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingthe indication of the TDM pattern from the third base station in atransparent container.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 922 may include code fortransmitting a confirmation to the UE confirming the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingthe indication of the at least one TDM pattern from the UE comprisesreceiving an index value associated with the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for identifying 916 may include code foridentifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on the index value.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 922 may include code fortransmitting an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the UE.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 922 may include code fortransmitting an index value associated with the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 922 may include code fortransmitting signaling indicating to start the at least one TDM pattern,wherein the signaling comprise at least one of media access control(MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code forreceiving, based on one or more criteria, a request to the second basestation to stop the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the code for transmitting 922 may include code fortransmitting an indication to stop the at least one TDM pattern to theUE.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code forreceiving, from the UE, a request to change the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingan explicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingan implicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in media access control (MAC) signaling.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingan indication from the UE indicating a reduced capability for the firstaccess link.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code forreceiving, from the UE, an indication of a need for reduced capabilityon the first access link.

In some cases, the code for reducing or stopping 918 may include codefor reducing a number of transmissions to the UE on the first accesslink in response to the indication of the need for the reducedcapability.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingthe indication of the need for the reduced capability directly from theUE.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingthe indication using a signaling radio bearer established directlybetween the UE and the first base station.

In some cases, the code for receiving 920 may include code for receivingthe indication indirectly from the UE via a second base station.

In certain aspects, the processor 904 may include circuitry configuredto implement the code stored in the computer-readable medium/memory 912,such as for performing the operations illustrated in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7as well as other operations disclosed herein for multi-USIM and dualconnectivity operation. For example, the processor 904 includescircuitry for establishing 934, circuitry for identifying 916, circuitryfor reducing or stopping 918, circuitry for receiving 920, and circuitryfor transmitting 922.

In some cases, the circuitry for establishing 934 may include circuitryfor establishing a first access link for communicating with a userequipment.

In some cases, the circuitry for identifying 936 may include circuitryfor identifying at least one time division multiplexing (TDM) patternindicating a set of time periods for the UE to use to tune to a secondaccess link for communicating with a second base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for reducing or stopping 938 may includecircuitry for reducing or stopping transmissions to the UE on the firstaccess link during at least one time period of the set of time periods.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the secondbase station, wherein identifying the at least one TDM pattern is basedon the received indication of the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving the indication of the at least one TDM pattern indirectly fromthe UE via a third base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving the indication of the TDM pattern from the third base stationin a transparent container.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 942 may include circuitryfor transmitting a confirmation to the UE confirming the at least oneTDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving the indication of the at least one TDM pattern from the UEcomprises receiving an index value associated with the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for identifying 936 may include circuitryfor identifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on the indexvalue.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 942 may include circuitryfor transmitting an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to theUE.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 942 may include circuitryfor transmitting an index value associated with the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 942 may include circuitryfor transmitting signaling indicating to start the at least one TDMpattern, wherein the signaling comprise at least one of media accesscontrol (MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving, based on one or more criteria, a request to the second basestation to stop the at least one TDM pattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for transmitting 942 may include circuitryfor transmitting an indication to stop the at least one TDM pattern tothe UE.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving, from the UE, a request to change the at least one TDMpattern.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving an explicit indication to request the change in the at leastone TDM pattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving an implicit indication to request the change in the at leastone TDM pattern in media access control (MAC) signaling.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving an indication from the UE indicating a reduced capability forthe first access link.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving, from the UE, an indication of a need for reduced capabilityon the first access link.

In some cases, the circuitry for reducing or stopping 938 may includecircuitry for reducing a number of transmissions to the UE on the firstaccess link in response to the indication of the need for the reducedcapability.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving the indication of the need for the reduced capability directlyfrom the UE.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving the indication using a signaling radio bearer establisheddirectly between the UE and the first base station.

In some cases, the circuitry for receiving 940 may include circuitry forreceiving the indication indirectly from the UE via a second basestation.

EXAMPLE ASPECTS

Aspect 1: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for wirelesscommunication, comprising: establishing a first access link, associatedwith a first subscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, forcommunicating with a first base station; establishing a second accesslink, associated with the first SIM of the UE, for communicating with asecond base station; establishing a third access link associated with asecond SIM of the UE; identifying at least one time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods during whichto use the third access link; and tuning to the third access link forcommunicating using the second SIM during at least one time period ofthe set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern.

Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, further comprising transmitting anindication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second base station.

Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 2, wherein transmitting the indication ofthe TDM pattern to the second base station comprises transmitting theindication of the at least one TDM pattern directly to the second basestation.

Aspect 4: The method of Aspect 2, wherein transmitting the indication ofthe TDM pattern to the second base station comprises transmitting theindication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second base stationvia the first base station.

Aspect 5: The method of Aspect 4, wherein transmitting the indication ofthe at least one TDM pattern to the second base station via the firstbase station comprises transmitting the indication of the at least oneTDM pattern to the first base station using a transparent container.

Aspect 6: The method of any of Aspects 1-5, further comprising receivinga confirmation from the second base station confirming the at least oneTDM pattern.

Aspect 7: The method of claim 6, wherein the confirmation is receiveddirectly from the second base station or from the first base station ina transparent container.

Aspect 8: The method of any of Aspects 2-7, wherein transmitting theindication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second base stationcomprises transmitting an index value associated with the at least oneTDM pattern.

Aspect 9: The method of any of Aspects 1-8, wherein identifying the atleast one TDM pattern comprises receiving an indication of the at leastone TDM pattern from the second base station.

Aspect 10: The method of Aspect 9, wherein the indication of the atleast one TDM pattern comprises an index value associated with the atleast one TDM pattern and identifying the at least one TDM pattern isbased on the index value.

Aspect 11: The method of any of Aspects 9-10, wherein the indication ofthe at least one TDM pattern is received from the second base stationvia the first base station in a transparent container.

Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 9-11, wherein the indication ofthe at least one TDM pattern is received in radio resource control (RRC)signaling.

Aspect 13: The method of Aspect 12, wherein the at least one TDM patternstarts immediately after the UE processes the RRC signaling.

Aspect 14: The method of any of Aspects 12-13, further comprisingreceiving signaling indicating to start the at least one TDM pattern,wherein the signaling comprise at least one of media access control(MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling.

Aspect 15: The method of Aspect 14, wherein the MAC signaling comprisesa MAC control element (MAC-CE) and the PHY layer signaling comprisesdownlink control information (DCI).

Aspect 16: The method of any of Aspects 14-15, wherein the MAC layersignaling or the PHY layer signaling comprises an index value associatedwith the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 17: The method of any of Aspects 14-16, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern starts immediately after receiving the signaling indicatingto start the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 18: The method of any of Aspects 1-17, further comprisingtransmitting, based on one or more criteria, a request to the secondbase station to stop the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 19: The method of Aspect 18, wherein the one or more criteriacomprises the commencement of a voice call.

Aspect 20: The method of any of Aspects 1-19, further comprisingreceiving an indication from the second base station to stop the atleast one TDM pattern.

Aspect 21: The method of Aspect 20, wherein the indication to stop theat least one TDM pattern is received in at least one of in media accesscontrol (MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling and theindication to stop the at least one TDM pattern comprises an index valueassociated with the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 22: The method of any of Aspects 1-21, further comprisingtransmitting, to the second base station, a request to change the atleast one TDM pattern.

Aspect 23: The method of Aspect 22, wherein transmitting the request tochange the at least one TDM pattern comprises at least one of:transmitting an explicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling ortransmitting an implicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in media access control (MAC) signaling, whereinthe implicit indication comprises an index value associated with the atleast one TDM pattern.

Aspect 24: The method of any of Aspects 1-23, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern applies to downlink transmissions only or uplinktransmissions only.

Aspect 25: The method of any of Aspects 1-24, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is periodic.

Aspect 26: The method of Aspect 25, further comprising at least one of:receiving paging or system information on the third access linkperiodically during the set of time periods indicated in the at leastone TDM pattern or transmitting a tracking area update (TAU) or a radioaccess network notification area update (RNAU) periodically during theset of time periods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 27: The method of any of Aspects 1-24, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is aperiodic.

Aspect 28: The method of Aspect 27, further comprising transmitting atleast one of a tracking area update (TAU) or a radio access networknotification area update (RNAU) during the set of time periods indicatedin the at least one TDM pattern due to a mobility decision.

Aspect 29: The method of any of Aspects 1-28, further comprisingtransmitting an uplink transmission using the first access link duringat least one time period of the set of time periods indicated in the atleast one TDM pattern.

Aspect 30: The method of any of Aspects 1-29, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is semi-statically configured.

Aspect 31: The method of any of Aspects 1-30, wherein the first basestation comprises a master node and the second base station comprises asecondary node.

Aspect 32: The method of any of Aspects 1-31, wherein the first basestation comprises a long term evolution (LTE) base station and thesecond base station comprises a 5G base station.

Aspect 33: The method of any of Aspects 1-32, wherein tuning to thethird access link for communicating using the second SIM during at leastone time period of the set of time periods indicated in the at least oneTDM pattern comprises one of: communicating with the first base stationon the third access link using the second SIM, communicating with thesecond base station on the third access link using the second SIM, orcommunicating with a third base station on the third access link usingthe second SIM, wherein the third base station is different from thefirst base station and the second base station.

Aspect 34: The method of any of Aspects 1-33, wherein identifying the atleast one TDM pattern comprises transmitting an indication to the secondbase station indicating a reduced capability for the second access link,wherein the second access link operates according to the reducedcapability during at least one time period of the set of time periodsindicated in the TDM pattern.

Aspect 35: The method of any of Aspects 1-34, further comprisingtransmitting uplink signaling and data on only the first access linkduring the at least one time period of the set of time periods indicatedin the TDM pattern.

Aspect 36: A method performed by a first base station (BS) for wirelesscommunication, comprising: establishing a first access link forcommunicating with a user equipment, identifying at least one timedivision multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods forthe UE to use to tune to a second access link for communicating with asecond base station, and one of reducing or stopping transmissions tothe UE on the first access link during at least one time period of theset of time periods.

Aspect 37: The method of Aspect 36, further comprising receiving anindication of the at least one TDM pattern to the second base station,wherein identifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on thereceived indication of the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 38: The method of Aspect 37, wherein the indication of the TDMpattern to the second base station is received directly to from the UE.

Aspect 39: The method of any of Aspects 37-38, wherein receiving theindication of the TDM pattern from the UE comprises receiving theindication of the at least one TDM pattern indirectly from the UE via athird base station.

Aspect 40: The method of Aspect 39, wherein receiving the indication ofthe TDM pattern indirectly from the UE via the third base stationcomprises receiving the indication of the TDM pattern from the thirdbase station in a transparent container.

Aspect 41: The method of any of Aspects 37-40, further comprisingtransmitting a confirmation to the UE confirming the at least one TDMpattern.

Aspect 42: The method of Aspect 41, wherein the confirmation istransmitted directly to the UE or to the third base station in atransparent container.

Aspect 43. The method of any of Aspects 37-42, wherein receiving theindication of the at least one TDM pattern from the UE comprisesreceiving an index value associated with the at least one TDM patternand identifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on the indexvalue.

Aspect 44: The method of any of Aspects 36-43, wherein a third accesslink is established between the third base station and the UE.

Aspect 45: The method of any of Aspects 36-44, wherein the third basestation comprises a master node and the first base station comprises asecondary node.

Aspect 46: The method of any of Aspects 36-45, wherein the third basestation comprises a long term evolution (LTE) base station and the firstbase station comprises a 5G base station.

Aspect 47: The method of any of Aspects 36-46, further comprisingtransmitting an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the UE.

Aspect 48: The method of Aspect 47, wherein transmitting the indicationof the at least one TDM pattern to the UE comprises transmitting anindex value associated with the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 49: The method of any of Aspects 47-48, wherein the indication ofthe at least one TDM pattern is transmitted to the UE indirectly via athird base station in a transparent container.

Aspect 50: The method of any of Aspects 47-49, wherein the indication ofthe at least one TDM pattern is transmitted in radio resource control(RRC) signaling.

Aspect 51: The method of Aspect 50, further comprising transmittingsignaling indicating to start the at least one TDM pattern, wherein thesignaling comprise at least one of media access control (MAC) layersignaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling.

Aspect 52: The method of Aspect 51, wherein the MAC signaling comprisesa MAC control element (MAC-CE) and the PHY layer signaling comprisesdownlink control information (DCI).

Aspect 53: The method of any of Aspects 51-52, wherein the MAC layersignaling or the PHY layer signaling comprises an index value associatedwith the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 54: The method of any of Aspects 36-53, further comprisingreceiving, based on one or more criteria, a request to the second basestation to stop the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 55: The method of Aspect 54, wherein the one or more criteriacomprises the commencement of a voice call at the UE.

Aspect 56: The method of any of Aspects 36-55, further comprisingtransmitting an indication to stop the at least one TDM pattern to theUE.

Aspect 57: The method of Aspect 56, wherein the indication to stop theat least one TDM pattern is transmitted in at least one of in mediaaccess control (MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signalingand the indication to stop the at least one TDM pattern comprises anindex value associated with the at least one TDM pattern.

Aspect 58: The method of and of Aspects 36-57, further comprisingreceiving, from the UE, a request to change the at least one TDMpattern.

Aspect 59: The method of Aspect 58, wherein receiving the request tochange the at least one TDM pattern comprises at least one of: receivingan explicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling or receiving animplicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in media access control (MAC) signaling, wherein the implicitindication comprises an index value associated with the at least one TDMpattern.

Aspect 60: The method of any of Aspects 36-59, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern applies to downlink transmissions only or uplinktransmissions only.

Aspect 61: The method of any of Aspect 36-60, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is periodic.

Aspect 62: The method of any of Aspects 36-60, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is aperiodic.

Aspect 63: The method of any of Aspects 36-62, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is semi-statically configured.

Aspect 64: The method of any of Aspects 36-63, wherein identifying theat least one TDM pattern comprises receiving an indication from the UEindicating a reduced capability for the first access link.

Aspect 65: A method performed by a user equipment (UE) for wirelesscommunication, comprising: establishing a first access link, associatedwith a first subscriber identification module (SIM) of the UE, forcommunicating with a first base station, establishing a second accesslink, associated with the first SIM of the UE, for communicating with asecond base station, establishing a third access link associated with asecond SIM of the UE, determining a need for reduced capability on thesecond access link to communicate on the third access link, transmittingan indication of the need for the reduced capability to the second basestation, and communicating on the third access link using the second SIMsimultaneously with communicating on the second access link using thefirst SIM, wherein communicating on the second access link is at thereduced capability.

Aspect 66: The method of Aspect 65, wherein transmitting the indicationof the need for the reduced capability to the second base stationcomprises transmitting the indication directly to the second basestation.

Aspect 67: The method of Aspect 66, wherein transmitting the indicationdirectly to the second base station comprises transmitting theindication using a signaling radio bearer established directly betweenthe UE and the second base station.

Aspect 68: The method of Aspect 65, wherein transmitting the indicationof the need for the reduced capability to the second base stationcomprises transmitting the indication indirectly to the second basestation via the first base station.

Aspect 69: The method of Aspect 68, wherein transmitting the indicationindirectly to the second base station via the first base stationcomprises transmitting the indication to the first base station in atransparent container to be forwarded to the second base station.

Aspect 70: The method of any of Aspects 65-69, wherein determining theneed for the reduced capability on the second access link is based on acapability of the UE to support communication on the second access linkand the third access link simultaneously.

Aspect 71: The method of any of Aspects 65-69, wherein the indication ofthe need for the reduced capability indicates to the second base stationto reduce an amount of transmissions by the second base station to theUE on the second access link.

Aspect 72: The method of any of Aspects 65-71, wherein the first basestation comprises a master node (MN) and the second base stationcomprises a secondary node (SN).

Aspect 73: A method performed by a first base station (BS) for wirelesscommunication, comprising: establishing a first access link forcommunicating with a user equipment (UE), receiving, from the UE, anindication of a need for reduced capability on the first access link,and reducing a number of transmissions to the UE on the first accesslink in response to the indication of the need for the reducedcapability.

Aspect 74: The method of Aspect 73, wherein receiving the indication ofthe need for the reduced capability from the UE comprises receiving theindication directly from the UE.

Aspect 75: The method of Aspect 74, wherein receiving the indicationdirectly from the UE comprises receiving the indication using asignaling radio bearer established directly between the UE and the firstbase station.

Aspect 76: The method of Aspect 73, wherein receiving the indication ofthe need for the reduced capability from the UE comprises receiving theindication indirectly from the UE via a second base station.

Aspect 77: The method of Aspect 76, wherein the indication is receivedfrom the second base station in a transparent container.

Aspect 78: The method of any of Aspects 73-77, wherein the second basestation comprises a master node (MN) and the first base stationcomprises a secondary node (SN).

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

The techniques described herein may be used for various wirelesscommunication technologies, such as NR (e.g., 5G NR), 3GPP Long TermEvolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), code division multiple access(CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency divisionmultiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA), single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA),time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), andother networks. The terms “network” and “system” are often usedinterchangeably. A CDMA network may implement a radio technology such asUniversal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includesWideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 coversIS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement aradio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as NR (e.g. 5GRA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA andE-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). LTEand LTE-A are releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE,LTE-A and GSM are described in documents from an organization named “3rdGeneration Partnership Project” (3GPP). cdma2000 and UMB are describedin documents from an organization named “3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2” (3GPP2). NR is an emerging wireless communications technologyunder development.

The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networksand radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wirelessnetworks and radio technologies. For clarity, while aspects may bedescribed herein using terminology commonly associated with 3G, 4G,and/or 5G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure canbe applied in other generation-based communication systems.

In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a Node B (NB)and/or a NB subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on thecontext in which the term is used. In NR systems, the term “cell” andBS, next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point (AP),distributed unit (DU), carrier, or transmission reception point (TRP)may be used interchangeably. A BS may provide communication coverage fora macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cells. Amacro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., severalkilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs withservice subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively smallgeographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with servicesubscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area(e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having anassociation with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group(CSG), UEs for users in the home, etc.). A BS for a macro cell may bereferred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as apico BS. ABS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a homeBS.

A UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an accessterminal, a subscriber unit, a station, a Customer Premises Equipment(CPE), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handhelddevice, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL)station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, asmartbook, an ultrabook, an appliance, a medical device or medicalequipment, a biometric sensor/device, a wearable device such as a smartwatch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wrist band, smart jewelry(e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device(e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), avehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrialmanufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or anyother suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wirelessor wired medium. Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication(MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include,for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors,location tags, etc., that may communicate with a BS, another device(e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node mayprovide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a widearea network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired orwireless communication link. Some UEs may be consideredInternet-of-Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT)devices.

Certain wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single-carrierfrequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDMpartition the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers,which are also commonly referred to as tones, bins, etc. Each subcarriermay be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent inthe frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDM. Thespacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total numberof subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. Forexample, the spacing of the subcarriers may be 15 kHz and the minimumresource allocation (called a “resource block” (RB)) may be 12subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Consequently, the nominal Fast FourierTransfer (FFT) size may be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024 or 2048 forsystem bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz),respectively. The system bandwidth may also be partitioned intosubbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (e.g., 6 RBs), andthere may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands for system bandwidth of 1.25,2.5, 5, 10 or 20 MHz, respectively. In LTE, the basic transmission timeinterval (TTI) or packet duration is the 1 ms subframe.

NR may utilize OFDM with a CP on the uplink and downlink and includesupport for half-duplex operation using TDD. In NR, a subframe is still1 ms, but the basic TTI is referred to as a slot. A subframe contains avariable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, . . . slots) dependingon the subcarrier spacing. The NR RB is 12 consecutive frequencysubcarriers. NR may support a base subcarrier spacing of 15 KHz andother subcarrier spacing may be defined with respect to the basesubcarrier spacing, for example, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc.The symbol and slot lengths scale with the subcarrier spacing. The CPlength also depends on the subcarrier spacing. Beamforming may besupported and beam direction may be dynamically configured. MIMOtransmissions with precoding may also be supported. In some examples,MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas withmulti-layer DL transmissions up to 8 streams and up to 2 streams per UE.In some examples, multi-layer transmissions with up to 2 streams per UEmay be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported with upto 8 serving cells.

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled. Ascheduling entity (e.g., a BS) allocates resources for communicationamong some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell.The scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning,reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinateentities. That is, for scheduled communication, subordinate entitiesutilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity. Base stations arenot the only entities that may function as a scheduling entity. In someexamples, a UE may function as a scheduling entity and may scheduleresources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more otherUEs), and the other UEs may utilize the resources scheduled by the UEfor wireless communication. In some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, and/or in a meshnetwork. In a mesh network example, UEs may communicate directly withone another in addition to communicating with a scheduling entity.

In some examples, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) maycommunicate with each other using sidelink signals. Real-worldapplications of such sidelink communications may include public safety,proximity services, UE-to-network relaying, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V)communications, Internet of Everything (IoE) communications, IoTcommunications, mission-critical mesh, and/or various other suitableapplications. Generally, a sidelink signal may refer to a signalcommunicated from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to anothersubordinate entity (e.g., UE2) without relaying that communicationthrough the scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even though thescheduling entity may be utilized for scheduling and/or controlpurposes. In some examples, the sidelink signals may be communicatedusing a licensed spectrum (unlike wireless local area networks, whichtypically use an unlicensed spectrum).

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the methods. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples ofthe same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b,b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishingand the like.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects describedthroughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known tothose of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein byreference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover,nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in theclaims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase“means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recitedusing the phrase “step for.”

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions.The means may include various hardware and/or software component(s)and/or module(s), including, but not limited to a circuit, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or processor. Generally,where there are operations illustrated in figures, those operations mayhave corresponding counterpart means-plus-function components withsimilar numbering.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD),discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration maycomprise a processing system in a wireless node. The processing systemmay be implemented with a bus architecture. The bus may include anynumber of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system and the overall design constraints.The bus may link together various circuits including a processor,machine-readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface may beused to connect a network adapter, among other things, to the processingsystem via the bus. The network adapter may be used to implement thesignal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of a userequipment 120 (see FIG. 1 ), a user interface (e.g., keypad, display,mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus mayalso link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals,voltage regulators, power management circuits, and the like, which arewell known in the art, and therefore, will not be described any further.The processor may be implemented with one or more general-purpose and/orspecial-purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors,microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry that can executesoftware. Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implementthe described functionality for the processing system depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored or transmittedover as one or more instructions or code on a computer readable medium.Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or anycombination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware,middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.Computer-readable media include both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. The processor may beresponsible for managing the bus and general processing, including theexecution of software modules stored on the machine-readable storagemedia. A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to a processorsuch that the processor can read information from, and write informationto, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may beintegral to the processor. By way of example, the machine-readable mediamay include a transmission line, a carrier wave modulated by data,and/or a computer readable storage medium with instructions storedthereon separate from the wireless node, all of which may be accessed bythe processor through the bus interface. Alternatively, or in addition,the machine-readable media, or any portion thereof, may be integratedinto the processor, such as the case may be with cache and/or generalregister files. Examples of machine-readable storage media may include,by way of example, RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (ReadOnly Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, opticaldisks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or anycombination thereof. The machine-readable media may be embodied in acomputer-program product.

A software module may comprise a single instruction, or manyinstructions, and may be distributed over several different codesegments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media.The computer-readable media may comprise a number of software modules.The software modules include instructions that, when executed by anapparatus such as a processor, cause the processing system to performvarious functions. The software modules may include a transmissionmodule and a receiving module. Each software module may reside in asingle storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices.By way of example, a software module may be loaded into RAM from a harddrive when a triggering event occurs. During execution of the softwaremodule, the processor may load some of the instructions into cache toincrease access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into ageneral register file for execution by the processor. When referring tothe functionality of a software module below, it will be understood thatsuch functionality is implemented by the processor when executinginstructions from that software module.

Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. Forexample, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or otherremote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared(IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, andmicrowave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers. Thus, in some aspects computer-readable media maycomprise non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media).In addition, for other aspects computer-readable media may comprisetransitory computer-readable media (e.g., a signal). Combinations of theabove should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer-readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein, for example, instructions for performing the operationsdescribed herein and illustrated in FIGS. 3-7 and other operations forperforming the various techniques discussed herein for multi-universalsubscriber identification module (USIM) and dual connectivity operation.

Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriatemeans for performing the methods and techniques described herein can bedownloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or basestation as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to aserver to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can beprovided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE)for wireless communication, comprising: establishing a first accesslink, associated with a first subscriber identification module (SIM) ofthe UE, for communicating with a first base station; establishing asecond access link, associated with the first SIM of the UE, forcommunicating with a second base station; establishing a third accesslink associated with a second SIM of the UE; identifying at least onetime division multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of timeperiods during which to use the third access link; and tuning to thethird access link for communicating using the second SIM during at leastone time period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting an indicationof the at least one TDM pattern to the second base station, whereintransmitting the indication of the TDM pattern to the second basestation comprises at least one of: transmitting the indication of the atleast one TDM pattern directly to the second base station; ortransmitting the indication of the at least one TDM pattern to thesecond base station via the first base station using a transparentcontainer.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving aconfirmation from the second base station confirming the at least oneTDM pattern, wherein the confirmation is received: directly from thesecond base station; or from the first base station in a transparentcontainer.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein: identifying the at leastone TDM pattern comprises receiving an indication of the at least oneTDM pattern from the second base station, wherein the indication isreceived directly from the second base station or indirectly from thesecond base station via the first base station in a transparentcontainer; the indication of the at least one TDM pattern comprises anindex value associated with the at least one TDM pattern; andidentifying the at least one TDM pattern is based on the index value. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein: the indication of the at least one TDMpattern is received in radio resource control (RRC) signaling; and theat least one TDM pattern starts immediately after the UE processes theRRC signaling.
 6. The method of claim 4, further comprising receivingsignaling indicating to start the at least one TDM pattern, wherein: thesignaling comprises at least one of media access control (MAC) layersignaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling; the MAC signaling comprisesa MAC control element (MAC-CE) and the PHY layer signaling comprisesdownlink control information (DCI); the MAC layer signaling or the PHYlayer signaling comprises the index value associated with the at leastone TDM pattern; and the at least one TDM pattern starts immediatelyafter receiving the signaling indicating to start the at least one TDMpattern.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting,based on one or more criteria, a request to the second base station tostop the at least one TDM pattern, wherein the one or more criteriacomprises commencement of a voice call.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising receiving an indication from the second base stationto stop the at least one TDM pattern, wherein: the indication to stopthe at least one TDM pattern is received in at least one of in mediaaccess control (MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling;and the indication to stop the at least one TDM pattern comprises anindex value associated with the at least one TDM pattern.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising transmitting, to the second base station,a request to change the at least one TDM pattern, wherein transmittingthe request to change the at least one TDM pattern comprises at leastone of: transmitting an explicit indication to request the change in theat least one TDM pattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling; ortransmitting an implicit indication to request the change in the atleast one TDM pattern in media access control (MAC) signaling, whereinthe implicit indication comprises an index value associated with the atleast one TDM pattern.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone TDM pattern applies to downlink transmissions only or uplinktransmissions only.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least oneTDM pattern is periodic and further comprising at least one of:receiving paging or system information on the third access linkperiodically during the set of time periods indicated in the at leastone TDM pattern; or transmitting a tracking area update (TAU) or a radioaccess network notification area update (RNAU) periodically during theset of time periods indicated in the at least one TDM pattern.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the at least one TDM pattern is aperiodic orsemi-statically configured and, when the at least one TDM pattern isaperiodic, the method further comprises transmitting at least one of atracking area update (TAU) or a radio access network notification areaupdate (RNAU) during the set of time periods indicated in the at leastone TDM pattern due to a mobility decision.
 13. The method of claim 1,further comprising transmitting an uplink transmission using the firstaccess link during at least one time period of the set of time periodsindicated in the at least one TDM pattern.
 14. The method of claim 1,wherein: the first base station comprises a master node; the second basestation comprises a secondary node; the first base station comprises along term evolution (LTE) base station; and the second base stationcomprises a 5G base station.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein tuningto the third access link for communicating using the second SIM duringat least one time period of the set of time periods indicated in the atleast one TDM pattern comprises one of: communicating with the firstbase station on the third access link using the second SIM;communicating with the second base station on the third access linkusing the second SIM; or communicating with a third base station on thethird access link using the second SIM, wherein the third base stationis different from the first base station and the second base station.16. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the at least one TDMpattern comprises transmitting an indication to the second base stationindicating a reduced capability for the second access link, wherein thesecond access link operates according to the reduced capability duringat least one time period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDMpattern.
 17. A method performed by a first base station (BS) forwireless communication, comprising: establishing a first access link forcommunicating with a user equipment (UE); identifying at least one timedivision multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods forthe UE to use to tune to a second access link for communicating with asecond base station; transmitting signaling indicating to start the atleast one TDM pattern, wherein the signaling comprises: a MAC controlelement (MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI); and an indexvalue associated with the at least one TDM pattern; and one of reducingor stopping transmissions to the UE on the first access link during atleast one time period of the set of time periods.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising receiving an indication of the at least oneTDM pattern from the UE, wherein identifying the at least one TDMpattern is based on the received indication of the at least one TDMpattern, and wherein at least one of: the indication of the TDM patternto the second base station is received directly to from the UE; or theindication of the at least one TDM pattern is received indirectly fromthe UE via a third base station in a transparent container.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising transmitting a confirmation tothe UE confirming the at least one TDM pattern, wherein the confirmationis transmitted: directly to the UE; or to the third base station in atransparent container.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein: a thirdaccess link is established between the third base station and the UE;the third base station comprises a master node; the first base stationcomprises a secondary node; the third base station comprises a long termevolution (LTE) base station; and the first base station comprises a 5Gbase station.
 21. The method of claim 17, further comprising:transmitting an indication of the at least one TDM pattern to the UE,the indication comprising the index value associated with the at leastone TDM pattern, wherein at least one of: the indication of the at leastone TDM pattern is transmitted to the UE indirectly via a third basestation in a transparent container; or the indication of the at leastone TDM pattern is transmitted in radio resource control (RRC)signaling.
 22. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving,based on one or more criteria, a request to the second base station tostop the at least one TDM pattern, wherein the one or more criteriacomprises commencement of a voice call at the UE.
 23. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising transmitting an indication to stop the atleast one TDM pattern to the UE, wherein: the indication to stop the atleast one TDM pattern is transmitted in at least one of media accesscontrol (MAC) layer signaling or physical (PHY) layer signaling; and theindication to stop the at least one TDM pattern comprises the indexvalue associated with the at least one TDM pattern.
 24. The method ofclaim 17, further comprising receiving, from the UE, a request to changethe at least one TDM pattern, wherein receiving the request to changethe at least one TDM pattern comprises at least one of: receiving anexplicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in radio resource control (RRC) signaling; or receiving animplicit indication to request the change in the at least one TDMpattern in media access control (MAC) signaling, wherein the implicitindication comprises the index value associated with the at least oneTDM pattern.
 25. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one TDMpattern applies to downlink transmissions only or uplink transmissionsonly.
 26. The method of claim 17, wherein: the at least one TDM patternis periodic; the at least one TDM pattern is aperiodic; or the at leastone TDM pattern is semi-statically configured.
 27. The method of claim17, wherein identifying the at least one TDM pattern comprises receivingan indication from the UE indicating a reduced capability for the firstaccess link.
 28. An apparatus for wireless communication by a userequipment (UE), comprising: at least one processor configured to:establish a first access link, associated with a first subscriberidentification module (SIM) of the UE, for communicating with a firstbase station; establish a second access link, associated with the firstSIM of the UE, for communicating with a second base station; establish athird access link associated with a second SIM of the UE; identify atleast one time division multiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set oftime periods during which to use the third access link; and tune to thethird access link for communicating using the second SIM during at leastone time period of the set of time periods indicated in the TDM pattern;and a memory coupled with the at least one processor.
 29. An apparatusfor wireless communication by a base station (BS), comprising: at leastone processor configured to: establish a first access link forcommunicating with a user equipment; identify at least one time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) pattern indicating a set of time periods for the UEto use to tune to a second access link for communicating with a secondbase station; and transmit signaling indicating to start the at leastone TDM pattern, wherein the signaling comprises: a MAC control element(MAC-CE) or downlink control information (DCI); and an index valueassociated with the at least one TDM pattern; and one of reduce or stoptransmissions to the UE on the first access link during at least onetime period of the set of time periods; and a memory coupled with the atleast one processor.